UAE's women farmers blend tradition with innovation to build new income streams

Food security has become one of the UAE's most pressing national priorities and Emirati women are stepping up to meet it. Across the country, a new generation of female entrepreneurs are entering the agricultural sector not as bystanders, but as pioneers.

Armed with a deep connection to the land and a sharply modern business instinct, they are turning homegrown ideas into ventures that strengthen the nation's food system from within.

Their approach is distinctive: rooted in Emirati heritage, driven by innovation, and guided by a long-term vision that goes well beyond the harvest season. In doing so, they are quietly rewriting what it means to farm, produce, and lead in the UAE.

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Plant whisperer of Al Ain

For over 25 years, Salima Alshamsi has tended to 300 date palms alongside a rich variety of vegetables and fruits at her farm in Al Ain. It has earned her a reputation unlike any other. She is affectionately known as the "plant whisperer," with those who know her saying that everything she touches not only grows but comes out juicier, plumper, and sweeter.

Her farm, Lulu, is the recipient of the Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Award for Agricultural Excellence from the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority recognition that her work goes far beyond personal passion.

"Managing Lulu Farm taught me that empowering women in this sector does not just affect the success of a single project it reaches further, touching communities through job creation and encouraging people to rely on local products," said Salima.

From heritage to high value

Maitha Almehrzi, founder of Shiyoukhi, took one of the most iconic symbols of Emirati culture — the date — and transformed it into a line of modern nutritional products without losing its soul. Her project combines traditional knowledge with contemporary production methods, developing value-added products that meet modern consumer demands while keeping the fruit's deep cultural significance intact.

"By combining knowledge with experience, and heritage with modern technology, we turn challenges into real business models, transforming agriculture from a seasonal activity into a forward-thinking, integrated project," Maitha said.

Raising the next generation

Seddiqa Ghuloum, founder of Bee Bite, a venture specialising in organic beeswax products, takes sustainability a step further by deliberately involving her daughter Hamda in every aspect of the business.

For Ghuloum, entrepreneurship is not just a career, but a legacy to be passed on."I want her to comprehend entrepreneurship and realise that innovation is a responsibility that starts in childhood. I would like to think I am contributing something meaningful and helping to raise a generation that is ready to carry this country forward," Seddiqa said.

Tea, identity, and a family legacy

What began as a family tradition stretching back to 1962 has grown into one of the UAE's most distinctive entrepreneurial stories. Fatma Almoosawi inherited her passion for tea from her grandfather and father, who spent decades blending varieties from around the world as a personal hobby.

She eventually transformed the pastime into Ygnd El-Ras, the UAE's first eco-friendly tea brand, whose name translates simply as "mood-setter."

But Almoosawi's vision goes well beyond the cup. Her brand transforms tea waste into compost, patented water purification solutions, and natural inks turning what most would discard into tools for environmental impact.

Selected among the 40 Arab Youth Pioneers in 2025, she also serves on the Emirates Youth Entrepreneurship Council, carrying Emirati identity and sustainable values onto global platforms.

"Innovation with sustainability proves that Emirati women entrepreneurs can turn small ideas into distinctive, eco-conscious brands that look to the future without losing touch with their roots." Fatma said.

The road ahead

As artificial intelligence, urban farming, and agricultural data analytics reshape the sector globally, Emirati women are well-positioned to lead that shift at home. What they demonstrate, collectively, is that empowering women in agriculture is not a side story to the UAE's food security ambitions it is central to them.

A platform that makes it possible

Behind every one of these ventures is not just individual ambition but a national ecosystem designed to support it. The Emirates Agriculture Conference and Exhibition 2026, held in Al Ain from April 22 to 26, offered female entrepreneurs a rare convergence of visibility, networking, and market access under one roof.

The event was designed to translate agricultural strategy into real economic value, linking local products directly to markets precisely the kind of platform that women-led agri-businesses need to scale beyond their immediate communities. Officials described it as going beyond a traditional exhibition, aiming to serve farmers, investors, researchers, and the wider community through an integrated national system.

For Emirati women in agriculture, the conference did more than showcase their work. It signalled that their place in the sector is not incidental — it is structural, supported, and built to grow.